Hello,My F-I-L bought a second hand snowblower a few years ago, MTD, 8hp, 26". He rarely used it as he always has trouble starting it, the main reason is he keeps forgetting the procedure on how to start it even though I've written it down for him. Anyways, we had a big snowfall this weekend and he ended up shoveling because he couldn't get the snowblower started after trying it for over half hour either manually cranking it or using the electric starter. I went over to check it out and noticed the gas line valve was closed, I opened it and after the second crank (manually), it started. After 30 seconds, it stopped. I started it again, cleared a few feet of snow and stopped again. I tried starting it again but can't even pull on the crank, it won't budge. Even with the electric starter, it won't turn, sounds like something is jammed.. Could it be possible the engine seized?Thanks.

Well, two things immediately come to mind. Either there was no or little oil in the crankcase, OR because you FIL can't get it going but keeps trying for long periods of time,chances are he's dumped so much fuel into the crankcase,the oil has lost all it lubricating properties,the engine overheated, and seized. It may do you little good at this point,but I'd look into those two possibilities.

_________________________
Reporters no longer report the news. They make it.

Unfortunately, nothing is lodged in the auger or impeller. Everything is moving freely. I'm afraid Bob_Q is right but I'll have to verify when I go back.If it's really seized....does that mean it would be better to replace the whole thing or is there some fix for it?

Just as an example, assuming yours is a Tecumseh,Northern Tool, http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/s...d=397&R=397sells this one for $400. Whether it's exactly the one for your blower is not important right now. You can check later if you want. If you have the time to wait,and you have a shop in the area,you can have the old one looked at,and if they say it needs 1/2 or more the price of a new one to repair,then a new one is best. If you decide to go for a new one, you'll need the numbers from the housing so the dealer or Northern,whoever,can tell you what engine will bolt right on in place of the old one. The reason you may not see 8 hp's is possibly because they aren't made any longer. I can't tell you that for sure,but T'man probably can. Hope this hleps.

_________________________
Reporters no longer report the news. They make it.

Try spraying some penetrating oil in the plug hole, thenlet it sit a while. If the rings are causing the lockup, this might get it going again. If the rod is locked up, then it is rebuild or replace time. Sometimes the penetrating oil trick buys a few more hours, even though the engine probably needs a cylinder cleanup and new rings at the least. If the above proceedure works, the engine might smoke a bit.

I've saved a few like that at the course after some knucklehead forgot to replace an oil plug after checking,or put straight gas in a weedeater,but they always seem to give you problems after that. But if you don't want to dump the money into it right away......and it works for a while,what the heck. Might be fine too,who knows.

_________________________
Reporters no longer report the news. They make it.

I saved a tiller and a 10 hp on a rider like that and they both run fine to this day. It seems like in a lot of cases your first oil mistake doesn't necessarily mean the end of the road for the engine. Just make sure you really take it easy when you start rocking back and forth on the flywheel to loosen things up. Patience is a major part of the process.